Week in Review

The joy of having kids at home still, and the flexibility to be able to help when needed... Twice this week, I picked up orders of wood from Lowes for the Our Town set build. 

A reward for this delivery - I love birds, and this hawk is frequently at Cora's school. I got to see it on the ground, enjoying lunch. 

Several evenings this week, after rehearsal, Stace (and I, kind of) helped Cora and Jarod with set construction. It's always gratifying to see it take shape. And I helped a lot with the program, and made the sign up for concessions.

A friend of mine is fostering kittens, so Violet and I went to pay them a visit. No, we're not taking them home! But tiny kittens are so cute, they're well-worth visiting.

When we were ready to go, Vi put them in the enclosure, but the black and white one wasn't ready for her to go. She climbed straight up and onto Violet. Then the sister decided to do the same. So cute!

Here's Evie, saying, I can act like a kitten, too! She actually likes to be held like this the best.

Violet and I took a walk at Quigley Canyon at dusk Saturday. We saw several rabbits, heard a lot of great horned owls, and spotted a white stone heart on the top left side of the hill. It's hard to see here, I know.

Stace, Violet and I rode our bikes into Newhall late Sunday afternoon. We stopped at Honu coffee and then looked at the Christmas decorations along Main Street.

 At Egg Plantation, I spied with my little eye an Our Town poster! I had dropped this one off a few days earlier. The students are taking them around town to businesses, to spread the word.

The Signal ran my press release this week. Here's a link to the story.

On Monday, the girls were off for Veterans' Day, and Violet's friends came over. They tried to bake a rat-shaped cookie, and a man-face cookie. Obviously they flattened out into tasty blobs.

Fun, Full Weekend

Violet and I did some PE at Vasquez Rocks on Friday afternoon, at her request. It was a gorgeous day.

We stopped for coffee drinks at San Fernando Coffee Company on the way home. 

That night, I had dinner with Christina and we saw a mystery play at The Master's University.

On Saturday, Vi got some more PE credit, taking a long bike ride with Stace. While near the mall, they came upon this hawk by a bridge, chowing down on a squirrel. Nature in action.

Meanwhile, Cora went to a big drama competition at Calabasas High with more than 60 schools, and I was able to chaperone. She took part in a musical theatre scene. Here, she is resting during this big day, and rehearsing lines with Mackenzie, who plays the second Stage Manager in Our Town.

That evening after we got home, we adults went to Fright Fest with Colleen, Rigo, Lucas, and our friends Christina and Eric.

It's always good hanging out with Lorraine-Lurane.

On Sunday afternoon, we got together with the same friends at River's End Pub on the other side of the valley. The bbq here is so good! Stace and I shared this humongous rib and sides.

Stace and Rigo drove their classics.

I found a new bread recipe that worked really well with my fresh-milled flour. Success! 

Violet and Liana went to a fun youth event at her church while we were at River's End. 

A good week!

Yosemite: Mirror Lake, and More

On Sunday morning, we checked out of our tent cabin and loaded up the car and our bikes, for a day's adventure.

We rode down to Happy Isles Nature Center, and admired the views.

Violet found this cool bit of wood.

We the rode down to Mirror Lake, a spot I remember visiting on our first trip, but Stace hadn't been before.

The bike routes around the Valley floor are so well done, and the weather and scenery were awesome.

Mirror Lake is nearly right under Half Dome, so the views were fantastic again.

But as for the lake? Missing in Action!

"It's so clear, you can see the bottom," Violet remarked. Love her sense of humor.

We found a nearby boulder to sit on, under the trees, for some snacks and drinks before riding on.

We stopped at the fancy, nearly 100-year-old Ahwahnee Hotel to look around. We checked out the shop and ordered nice drinks at the bar.
 

Cheers!

Violet found it amusing that her dad was enjoying his pricey gin and tonic with a PB&J from our bag.

We rode on to Yosemite Village, where we went in the big store and the Ansel Adams Gallery. 

By then, it was late enough to check into our night's accommodations at Housekeeping Camp, right by the Merced River. We got settled in and made dinner - at Housekeeping, you can cook food and have a fire pit near your cabin. We cooked up onions and sausages and put them in pitas with hummus - so tasty and a new idea for us for camping food. We took the finished result with our chairs to the river. 

Now that's a dinner view! After eating, we walked along the river, returned to our cabin and made a fire and read until bedtime. 

Labor Day Weekend

This week, Stace and I went to Back to School Night at the girls' schools - our last for Cora! Thankfully, the timing worked out for us to make it to both schools and meet their teachers. Didn't think to take a photo, though.

On Saturday, Stace helped at the Tiny House, and in the afternoon, we went to Ventura to cool off. Cora wasn't enthusiastic about joining us, but frozen yogurt from Surf 'N Yogurt on the way home helped ease the pain.

We found this tiny beach umbrella while Stace was cleaning out the garage; we brought it, not knowing how tiny it was. We got a good laugh out of it! And, it was still helpful, a bit!

My parents came over Sunday evening and brought dinner, and we went to the pool. Cora wasn't able to be with us, as she had a prior scheduled D&D game. Forgot to get a photo again!

Then, on Monday, we celebrated Labor Day by joining Colleen and Rigo on a bike ride in Ventura. We parked at Marina Park, where we'd gone Saturday, and rode to lunch, along the waterfront, and into the town.

We even caught a gorgeous sunset! 

Just kidding... this was a selfie spot along Main Street at an art gallery. We had to be home before sunset because we had to pick up Cora after D&D!

Afternoon coffee with great company, in perfect weather.

Back Home in Somerset

We made our return to Somerset this week, flying in Monday/Tuesday on a newer carrier, Norse Atlantic Airways. It was an overall good experience, and we saved a lo of money. We had to pack light and bring our own food, and we flew into Gatwick instead of Heathrow.

For the first time, the girls took the train with us back to Somerset. First, we took the Tube from Gatwick to Paddington, and on that ride, we caught this cool view of Tower Bridge.

Then, we got on the train to Castle Cary, where Dean and Nan and Pop picked us all up.

We had a much earlier flight in, and somehow, we all adjusted a bit easier to the time change.

On our first day, Stace, Vi and I took a bike ride to East Lambrook to see a watercolor art show I'd seen advertised in the local paper. It was well worth seeing. We enjoyed a drink and a cake in the shop after.

The River Parrett

Country views are the best.

We also went to the village shop and playground on our first full day,

Later in the trip, we took a walk to Thorney Mill, and walked home through the fields. We're up on the little bridge here.

It's so good to be together again.

Memorial Day Weekend

 

We had our three-day Memorial Day weekend, and Stace and Violet made it out on a beautiful Saturday for a bike ride. 

Melanie, Nick and Ellie came over Sunday, so Mel could cook Stace a lovely steak dinner for a (much belated) birthday gift.

Ellie had fun picking blueberries with Violet.

Stace and I had prior plans to see The Play That Goes Wrong at the Canyon Theatre Guild with my friend Christina. When we came home, Mel had this fantastic dinner basically on the table. It was so yummy!

Stace got quite a bit of gardening done over the weekend. Seb was helpful.

On Monday, Stace and I left early to help Jim and JT get ready to move into their new house. Stace helped with some electrical work in the garage.

I helped clean. It was great to be useful, and also great to catch up. We hadn't seen them since Christmas!

We are so pleased for them!

Jonah took part in a Memorial Day ceremony with his scout troop.